1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an imaging apparatus, and, in particular, to an imaging apparatus capable of combining a plurality of captured images.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, there has been a technique of realizing multiple exposure shooting by adding a plurality of digital image signals. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-69888 discusses a technique related to shooting processing using a multiple exposure function of generating a single image through a plurality of exposures. According to the technique discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-69888, image data of each frame stored in an image memory is combined with each other by averaging processing, and the result thereof is stored in the image memory. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-125266 discusses a technique for displaying a combined image of an already captured image and a through-the-lens image, and allowing a user to perform multiple exposure shooting after confirming the position where an object is combined.
Like the technique discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-125266, displaying the combined image of the through-the-lens image and the already captured image in multiple exposure shooting enables a user to determine the position of the object and select the settings of the shooting conditions for the next shooting operation based on the displayed image. At this time, a combination ratio of the through-the-lens image and the already captured image for providing a display facilitating a user's intended operation does not necessarily match a combination ratio for generating a multiple image combination result image to be recorded in a recording medium as a result of multiple exposure shooting. However, the techniques discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-69888 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-125266 fail to address multiple image combination of the through-the-lens image and the already captured image at a more suitable combination ratio according to a user's intended operation when a user views the display.